Director: Grace Hall Writer: Stephen Henderson Producer: Spoken Chronicles Theatre Company
After the recent passing of his father, Damian (Elijah Dawson) is debt-ridden and depressed. The Heartaches arrive to help Damian navigate through his grief. The Heartaches are likened to angels or memories or hallucinations and ultimately provide lessons that equip Damian with the skills he needs to move on.
The Heartaches mingled with the audience prior to the performance which enabled the establishment of their characters and relationships with each other. However, the cast need to be more aware of personal space as the intensity of these engagements under the worklights was very awkward for some patrons.
The characters Sapphire (Bailey Harris), Phoenix (Jack Graf), Echo (Eliza Howells), Corpus (Sophie-May Brown) and Tank (Grace Hall) had each been assigned a colour which was used for their costumes, hair, makeup and lighting. Special mention to Hall who had to step into the role of Tank at the eleventh hour due to an unforeseen circumstance so that the show could go on.
In terms of staging, the action mainly occurred centre stage between Damian and one of the Heartaches whilst the other four remained stationed at corners. This arrangement along with a choice of free show programmes featuring different characters on the covers were novel ideas.
The analogy about facing challenges displayed excellent physicality, and the cast worked extremely well particularly when all were engaged in one single action. Voice projection was admirable. At an hour long, it was the ideal length given the topic.
Damian and the Heartaches was an eclectic mix of confronting themes, amusing lines, energetic performances and thought-provoking messages.
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